Currently ranked 167th in the FIFA rankings, Malaysia are also in the 35th spot within the Asian zone and that is one below the line that the team needs to be ahead of the draw of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification. Those ranked from 35-46 will have to go through a first round knockout before entering the group stage.
Recent progress under Tan Cheng Hoe, in particular the 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup has enabled Harimau Malaya to remained consistently at the 167th spot but will need to gain more points in the coming points to push the team further up the rankings.